Bikepacking- an overnight or longer from your bike- is something rather new to the outdoor adventure repertoire of most. It has been around for years, but has seen lots of growth in recent years, possibly due to the ever-decreasing weight and size of gear. It is now possible to put everything you need on your bike, perhaps a few things on your back, and head off for a night or two on single track trails. WIth panniers or a trailer the night or two can stretch to a week or even a summer.

My first "true" bikepacking trip was a ride of the White Rim Trail in 2008. I pulled a BOB trailer on the leisurely 5 day outing, with most of my weight being water. The White Rim was a great place to experiment with the trailer and gear as it is more or less a road ride for about 100 miles, 125 miles in my case. See the Trip Guide page on the White Rim Ride for more info on that excursion. The photo to the left, courtesy of Antonio Chiumenti, shows me pulling the BOB overloaded with water, a unfortunate necessity if you ride in August.

If you ride with panniers, your packing list must be rigid. Without panniers, it has to be exact. If you pull a trailer your packing list can be much less exacting. Although you are still pulling the weight, you can throw in a book, sandals for camp, maybe an espresso maker (see below). I was comfortable on the trip (I carried things I would not normally carry.) Everything fit into the trailer dry bag, along with 6 gallons of water in Dromedary and Platypus bags. Below I list the gear I carried on the White Rim ride. It is based on the Desert Explorer Ultralight Packing List, with some additions. For detailed explanations about the gear I use, see the Ultralight Packing List page and the River Packing List page.

Packing List- White Rim Ride- carried items

Clothing

Ex Officio shorts (pants with zip-off legs)

light polypro shirt and pants

light pile vest

rain gear- Marmot Precip jacket, rain pants

socks- pair per day

polypro gloves, cap

boonie hat

bandana

river sandals (I carried Tevas because they are considerably lighter then Chacos)

Necessities

bug juice

sunglasses, sunscreen

headlamp

compass

maps, case

lighter

lip balm

knife with flint

watch

Survival Kit

matches

parachute cord

duct tape

first aid kit

snake bite kit

Sleeping

sleeping bag

sleeping pad (Therm-a-rest)

Therm-a-rest chair sleeve for pad

poncho (silcloth)

tyvek ground sheet

mosquito shelter (Golite Nest)

rain fly for mosquito shelter

Miscellaneous Items

permit for ride

notebook, pen, etc.

book

camera

T.P.

toothbrush, powder, floss

electrolytes

sport slick

handiwipes

Tecnu (for poison ivy)

Cooking

stove, fuel and acc's.

water bottle- one quart Nalgene

Dromlite bags

Platypus bags

water filter (used Katadyn)

3 gallon collapsible bucket

titanium cup

900 ml titanium pot

spork

soap

food

hot sauce

I wore bike shorts, an Ex Officio Airstrip shirt (far superior to any other choice for desert riding in my opinion), helmet and gloves. I carried a Camelbak HAWG, with 100 ounces of water. On my bike were two large bike bottles with water. For bike gear I carried the usual took kit, pump, patches, chain lube, small rag, and extra tubes for the bike and trailer.